The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identities and capabilities of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to U.S. officials.

The information has become more crucial as the administration and its coalition partners move closer to providing direct military aid or guidance to the disorganized and beleaguered rebel army.

Although the administration has pledged that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed to Libya, officials said Wednesday that President Obama has issued a secret finding that would authorize the CIA to carry out a clandestine effort to provide arms and other support to Libyan opposition groups.

The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, insisted that no decision has been made.

Let’s remember that Barack Obama had several weeks to figure this out before engaging in military action on behalf of the rebels, which is clearly what the allied coalition has intended. This is information we should have known even before the uprisings broke out on either side of Libya in Tunisia and Egypt; the White House should have consulted a map and asked for this information after the convulsions in Libya’s neighbors began. Obama certainly should have demanded it when the problems started in Libya six weeks ago.

Now we’re bombing Gaddafi’s forces and attempting to keep the rebels alive in the field, even though we don’t know who they are, and no one seemed eager to ask until Congress began balking at the military action. Roger Simon at Politico can’t quite believe his ears:

Most of the media headlined Clinton’s statement about possibly arming the rebels. Many stories left out what I consider her more important statement: that she really had no idea who the rebels are and that, in fact, they might actually include members of Al Qaeda, the terrorist group that attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001. …

We are killing people — Muammar Qadhafi’s troops and possibly civilians through “collateral damage” — in order to put the rebels in power.

But “we do not have any specific information about specific individuals from any organization who are part of this,” according to our secretary of state.

And they might include terrorists trying to destroy our country.

Yesterday, Clinton left the impression that the White House didn’t particularly feel the need to get Congress’ approval on action in Libya, an attitude that some called arrogant. It might be more like desperation. If Obama went to Congress now, his team would have to answer a lot of specific questions about the rebels, Gaddafi’s forces, and the ramifications of utter collapse in Libya, and it looks like his team doesn’t know any of those answers.

If anything, this demonstrates the wisdom of requiring Congressional oversight over warmaking power.

How to “vet” somebody who is probably answering under a nom de guerre, has a checkered past at best, is living in or from an area that when ya get down to it there isn’t a lot of paper trail, and who may or may not be more than willing to kill any American if given the opportunity…

What are we gonna do? Check their LUD’s from the phone company? Send a telex to Interpol? Ask the guy standing next to them if “Akhmed” is an OK sort of guy?

Vetting takes time, and documentation, and analysis from a psych perspective as well as a counter-intelligence perspective.

We lost seven officers in Afghanistan last January (2010) and the killer was “vetted” or so we thought.

Bottom line, In God We Trust. All others require a complete background investigation.

If Obama went to Congress now, his team would have to answer a lot of specific questions about the rebels, Gaddafi’s forces, and the ramifications of utter collapse in Libya, and it looks like his team doesn’t know any of those answers.

He should still do it. Avoiding Congress will only alienate them even more(including members of his own party) and if/when things go very badly in Libya which is looking more and more likely every day, he and his administration will own it all by themselves.

If anything, this demonstrates the wisdom of requiring Congressional oversight over warmaking power.

It also demonstrates the foolishness of allowing a clique with the mentality and experience of leftwing undergraduates to run the country.

I can’t remember where I read it, maybe VDH, a comment early in the Obama regime about a club of leftwing undergrads running the country. It fits. Seriously, Obama’s entire intellectual makeup was fully formed around age 20 and he hasn’t learned a single *&!#$ thing in the 30 years since then.

Vetting is the wrong action. It assumes a static history. What we should be doing is co-opting them: come out for constitutionally enshrined rights (life, liberty, property) and we move support in your direction.

This is information we should have known even before the uprisings broke out on either side of Libya in Tunisia and Egypt;

And according to Glenn Beck yesterday, the National Security Council met with Egyptian democracy advocates last October — so we should have had some idea of who all these guys were months ago. Glenn may be overly dramatic and may be matching up pieces that don’t necessarily fit, but at least he’s asking the right questions.

I’m not so much baffled that we have an inexperienced president, but it seems as though all those around him aren’t much better.

Libyan Rebel spokesman: “Welcome United States CIA man. Yes, please, let me introduce you to the leader of the Libyan rebels….Mr. Osama bin Laden.
He has a great idea of using US airliners to destroy the buildings that Moammar Gaddafi is located in.”

If Obama went to Congress now, his team would have to answer a lot of specific questions about the rebels, Gaddafi’s forces, and the ramifications of utter collapse in Libya, and it looks like his team doesn’t know any of those answers.

If Obama went to Congress now, his team would have to answer a lot of specific questions about the rebels, Gaddafi’s forces, and the ramifications of utter collapse in Libya, and it looks like his team doesn’t know any of those answers.

I thought that I heard that Robert Gates and ADM Mullen were testifying today before the House Armed Services Committee. I wonder how the Committee will square the statements of the SECSTATE with the testimony of the SECDEF within the context of the executive branch’s statement from Ft McNair on Monday.

The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identities and capabilities of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to U.S. officials.

I saw on the news last night where a reporter witnessed some rebels trying to launch a rocket and had it pointing backwards and hit a village. He said these rebels have no idea how to operate the artillery that somehow they got a hold of.

If Obama went to Congress now, his team would have to answer a lot of specific questions about the rebels, Gaddafi’s forces, and the ramifications of utter collapse in Libya, and it looks like his team doesn’t know any of those answers.

It appears that “his team” could use a major over-haul, something along the lines of a cash-for-clunkers campaign.

Why does this country assume Obama has the ability to produce positive results in Libya, when he can’t even find the ability to produce a single private sector job in his own country? The gulf oil spill should have been Obama’s Katrina, yet the media gave him a passing grade on his performance there. Unemployment is still running at real figures between 10% and 16% percent depending on which region of the country you’re in. “His Team” rammed down our throats one of the worst pieces of socialized legislation with the joke of health care reform that was supposed to reduce overall cost. “His Team” and the Fed still haven’t quit printing money by the billions propping up a phony stock market.

Gaddafi and Libya are the least of our problems when a national economic crisis is upon all of us right here……right now! Yet Obama, “His Team”, and the spoon-fed media is doing their best to take the light off the real crisis facing this nation. How many ways can we say WAG THE DOG? !!!!!!!!

Over at Huffpo some imbecile calling himself “Jean Renoir” is convinced that Qaddafi is akin to Hitler whereas Saddam Hussein was not, that an attack on Iran (like that on Iraq) would service only the hated Likud-in-the-Bush whereas somehow clobbering Libya is in the best spirit of Ernest Hemingway, Rick Blaine and La Passionara. I hope conservatives can furnish something better in the way of analysis. Please.

Obama: Uuuuuuuuh Hillary? I’m really not good with this hard stuff. Take care of it for me. *SLAP* (a lil gift from Obama’s hand to Hillarys behind). I’ll wait here and eat my Cap’n Crunch, and you report back to me, uuuuuuuuuuuh whenever.

Yesterday, Clinton left the impression that the White House didn’t particularly feel the need to get Congress’ approval on action in Libya, an attitude that some called arrogant.

Ah, good clarification. Now I clearly understand that KMA stands for Kiss My Ass. There seemed to have been some confusion between Kick and Kiss. Of course, if we ended up arming rebels that later turn out to be Al Queda, who in turn, bad mouth the U.S. after the conflict, Kick will become appropriate.

Obviously, France and Germany were protecting their oil interests (and Barry couldn’t care less about any of that). The “humanitarian” thing is more a pretext than a motive, else we’d be looking seriously at Iran, Syria, Yemen, etc.

More and more it’s looking like Barry thought Libya would be a quick, easy way to shore up his foreign policy leadership ratings for 2012. Heck, what could go wrong, since Libya had no real army and the UN, the Arab League, and our European allies were asking for help.

Now the UN crying foul and the Arab League is nowhere to be seen. Was Barry bamboozled?

More and more it’s looking like Barry thought Libya would be a quick, easy way to shore up his foreign policy leadership ratings for 2012. Heck, what could go wrong, since Libya had no real army and the UN, the Arab League, and our European allies were asking for help.

Now the UN crying foul and the Arab League is nowhere to be seen. Was Barry bamboozled?

Did anyone bother to try and vet the rebels when Obama said he wanted Kadaffy gone? No.

Did anyone vet them in the next two weeks? No.

Did anyone vet them when Obama started getting involved in the NFZ concept? No.

Did anyone vet them after the NFZ started and then was expanded into a No Tank Zone? No.

Did anyone vet them when it was leaked that Obama wanted to give the rebels arms? No.

So, after we find a field al Qaeda guy who has been to both Afghanistan and Iraq, and through US military processing, only NOW do we start to think that ‘Gee… maybe we should… you know… look into their backgrounds?’

Bad enough the CIA doesn’t have any HUMINT in the country that could have gotten back to HQ like in a day or two once things bubbled over weeks ago. That does lead to the conclusion that the CIA has had NO long-term plans to get decent INTEL from Libya for years if not a decade or more…

Oh. And still no policy, yet, on why we are actually there and what our vital interests are. Soon bleeding hearts will lead to bleeding bodies.

In the news today: Holder, Clinton, Obama, and that VP nut what ever his name is are all violating their oaths of office, laws and, the Constitution. Another no news day filled with the standard filler.

Pentagon lawyers also define the “war on terror” as ongoing, indefinite and global in scope. That analysis effectively discards the limitation of the defense secretary’s war powers to times and places of imminent combat.

Leon Panetta- rush to action?
AHAHAH.
Trust me, having had this empty suit as a congressional rep for years, you can always count on Leon to screw up in a big way when something actually has to get done.
Another chicken coming home to roost.